VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The second half of the 2012 Hastings meet begins this weekend, and general manager Raj Mutti was pleased with how the first half went.
According to Mutti, the total live mutuel handle is up by 11 percent. What has Mutti excited is that ontrack live handle is up by 12 percent. The amount being bet ontrack is actually higher than reflected in the figures.
Trainer Ron Grieves is looking for a good effort from Silver Baubles in a second-level allowance race that will serve as Sunday’s feature at Northlands. The one-mile race for 3-year-olds and up drew eight horses and goes as the seventh race.
Silver Baubles won the one-mile Alberta Premiers Futurity by a widening 5 1/4 lengths last year so he won’t have any trouble handling the distance. He hasn’t started since he finished second to Dougs Buddy in the $50,000 Canadian Juvenile last year, however, and he might need a race.
FORT ERIE, Ontario – The $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes is the undisputed highlight here at Fort Erie on Sunday but local performers will have a chance to showcase their talents in the $30,000 Princess Cup, a six-furlong race for fillies and mares who have started at least twice at the meeting.
Ten runners will go to the post in the Princess Cup, and the logical favorite is Mountain Echo, a 6-year-old trained by Richard Davis.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Mark Casse sends out the well-regarded first-timer Spring in the Air and Bold Birdie in Sunday’s $150,000 Shady Well Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong dash for Ontario-bred 2-year-old fillies.
The Shady Well has been carded as the fourth race on the Woodbine card, in order to give several jockeys in the race the opportunity to ride in the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes late Sunday afternoon at Fort Erie.
Patrick Husbands, who has the call on Dixie Strike in the Prince of Wales, will ride Spring in the Air.
Here's my race-by-race rundown of Saturday's pick four at Betfair Hollywood Park on July 14, 2012. I'm building my wager with TicketMaker, found exclusively on DRF.com. The bet increments are $0.50, and I'm on a $100 budget.
BILA SHAKA (#7) takes a significant class drop for her first start in nearly a year. Her big maiden win came here, Bejarano stays and her trainer is superb off a long layoff. PROPERO (#1) looked good whipping maidens here last month and may have turned the corner.
Bettors who pounded second-time starter The Absolute One down to 4-5 odds knew what they were doing Thursday afternoon at Delaware Park.
One of five 2-year-olds in a field of seven for the $56,250 Par Four Stakes, The Absolute One ($3.60) opened up a 1 1/2-length lead on the backstretch after setting fractions of 21.89 and 45.73 seconds and withstood a brief threat from 14-1 outsider Pitch N Roll to score by a half-length.
ELMONT, N.Y. – A fairly logical set of results led to a pick-six payout of $7,592 at Belmont Park on Thursday. There were 118 winning tickets.
Thursday’s card began with a double carryover of $251,315 after the wager went unhit last weekend.
Following three dark days, bettors jumped in with both fists, wagering an additional $1,129,658 into the pool.
The winning sequence of 7-7-4-1-2-10 consisted of Rustler Hustler ($3.80), Funfair ($8.80), Rain Forest ($7.60), Transplendent ($5.40), War Colony ($15.60), and Rock On Home ($5.60).
Kentucky Oaks winner Believe You Can will skip the Coaching Club American Oaks on July 21 and await the Alabama on Aug. 18, trainer Larry Jones said Thursday.
Jones said he would have to van Believe You Can from Ellis Park to Saratoga for both races and wanted to make that trip only one time. She vanned from Kentucky to New York for the Mother Goose, a race in which she finished third.
Winter Memories, beaten favorite in the Grade 1 Just a Game on Belmont Stakes Day, worked toward a start in the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga on July 28 by working five furlongs Thursday morning in 1:01.43 over Belmont’s inner turf course.
As Winter Memories was about to break off, trainer Jimmy Toner said that he wanted exercise rider Pierre Godoy to get the Grade 1 stakes-winning filly away from the pole slowly. When the first eighth went in 13.03 seconds, Toner simply said, “Perfect.”
[bc_video_id:256992:]INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Based on a playful demeanor inside his stall, the friendly gelding Amarish seems an unlikely candidate as California’s hottest 2-year-old speedball.
Never mind both starts by Amarish were lopsided blowouts. Back at the barn of trainer Jeff Bonde, it is a different story. Amarish longs for attention. He stretches out his neck to have his head scratched. Stop petting, and he nips playfully, asking for more.
“He really enjoys people,” Bonde said. “He’s a very kind animal. But he’s all business on the track.”
